Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Somewhere in California (April 1, 2015) ­- Veteran entertainment reporters Jeff Sneider and Nikki Finke proudly announced today that they are teaming with "Shark Tank" star Mark Cuban to launch The FinSneider, a new multimedia venture that will include a breaking news website and a unique podcast featuring sharp analysis from two of Hollywood’s loudest mouths.

“People think my relationship with Nikki is this black-and-white thing, but it’s really fifty shades of grey. I'm thrilled to partner with her and I look forward to our verbal sparring sessions as we match wits on the podcast, even if she’s going to connect via Skype,” Sneider said over a plain, well-done hamburger and his third Shirley Temple.

“I toldja! Jeff Sneider wasn't my first choice, or even my twelfth, but he's like a fungus -- he just kind of grows on
you,” Finke said from an undisclosed location inside a volcano while stroking her rare white cat Mrs. Bigglesworth like a Bond villain. "He made me an offer I couldn't refuse, and believe me, I tried."

"We're two big personalities, so obviously negotiations were intense, but once Nikki agreed to let me scoop her on the announcement and put myself first in this press release, I knew it was meant to be," said Sneider. "There was just one catch: she said I'd need to find her a new billionaire to finance the site, and I only knew one way to do that now that I unfriended Robert Durst on Facebook -- 'Shark Tank.'"

With Finke’s blessing, Sneider pitched the idea for The FinSneider on an upcoming episode of ABC's hit reality series, which is expected to air this summer. The ink-stained duo secured a modest financial commitment from Hollywood impresario Cuban in exchange for a minority stake in The FinSneider.

"I wasn’t surprised when Mr. Wonderful bowed out first because Nikki mentioned something about a bad date they had in the ‘80s. From the start, we went in hoping Mark would make an offer because he has Hollywood ties and he thinks outside the box, so we
knew he’d understand our shared vision," explained Sneider.

On the show, Cuban described the chance to invest in The FinSneider as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that outranked winning a NBA championship and selling Broadcast.com to Yahoo! for $5.7 billion.

"Imagine Nikki as Demi Moore in 'Ghost' and me as Patrick Swayze, which should be easy given our strong jaw lines. The FinSneider is like a slab of raw clay on a pottery wheel, and we’ve been slowly shaping it
together," said Sneider while trying to keep a straight face.

"I would dispute that characterization," added Finke. "The podcast will simply allow me to engage my 260,000 Twitter followers, who I affectionately refer to as Finkies, in a meaningful conversation without ever having to leave the comfort of my home. Ever."

The first guest on The FinSneider podcast will be Bret Easton Ellis, who was eager to help Finke launch the new endeavor, noting that he wrote “American Psycho” as an homage to the feared blogger. "I want to make sure the ratings for her first episode won't be less than zero," said the provocative bestselling author.

Sneider brings experience hosting a must-listen podcast thanks to “Meet the Movie Press,” a show he has repeatedly tried and failed to persuade Finke to do. “I remember inviting her on a few times and she said, ‘You want me to talk about
Marvel shit for an hour? I don’t do geek.’ Things just developed from there based on a mutual disdain for
authority and a shared love of Milano cookies,” recalled Sneider.

Finke is the founder and editor-in-chief emeritus of Deadline Hollywood who served as the inspiration for an unaired HBO pilot starring Diane Keaton, while Sneider is a small-fry film writer who has been fired from Variety twice and spends his days complaining about exclusives on Twitter.

Finke has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, Newsweek, Vanity Fair, New York Observer, Premiere, Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Esquire and Los Angeles magazine. Sneider has written for none of those places.

Peter Parker is expected to serve as The FinSneider's official photographer, and additional details regarding the venture will be revealed on Wednesday at 12 p.m. PDT.

Nikki Finke will be available for (phone) interviews upon request. For media inquiries, please contact Entourage PR's Shauna Roberts at 481-516-2342.

The InSneider

Jeff Sneider began his career at Ain't It Cool News where he wrote as MiraJeff. After graduating from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he moved to LA and began writing for Variety and later, TheWrap and Mashable. He is currently the Editor in Chief of The Tracking Board. He has also written for MTV Movies Blog, Hollywood Life, Washington Square News and the Colorado Springs Independent. His Oscar picks have appeared on the LA Times' Envelope site right next to Tom O'Neil's. He agrees with screenwriter William Goldman who famously said of Hollywood, "nobody knows anything."